Every Chaos Dwarf have to face the big problem of bolt throwers. If you are a billionaire you have no problems: just get 6-8 of them on ebay for 20-25 �,� each (around 30 $ each).
An alternative is the classic dwrf bolt thrower (difficult to find and expensive) or the cheap solution of the goblin bolt thrower. :h
I do not really like goblin one, so I had a “big” problem to solve.
I looked around in my bit box and did not find anything…
The power of the Bluebeards’ clan lies in the masssive forges hundreds of metres below Zharr Naggrund. In those places, never touched by sun light, Chaos Dwarfs carry dark rituals for the production of evil machineries of war. But the power of the clan comes also from the endless factories just outside their sector of Zharr Naggrund. There, thousands of slaves, men and other breeds of lesser races, work under the scourge of hobgoblins’ slavers to produce simpler but not less effective machines of war…
Here is the “making of” :hat off
Step 1
In each 6th ed starter set there are orc sprues, in each one there are two curved pieces at the center, they’ll form the support for the spear. Don’t they are the exact copy? Who cares? These are supposed to be hobgoblin bolt throwers!! The white plastic is plasticard, of course.
Step 2 Shape the bow using the two pieces of plasticard, carefully bend the largest piece od plasticard and then fix the smaller one, in this way the larger one preserves its bended shape. Once the glue is sealed, you can start to shape the bow using an hobby knife.
Step 3 Once you have shaped the bow with an hobby knife, you can use green stuff to make the four ring of metal that should keep the two part of the bow together. Glue the bow and the bar together. The bar could be decorated as you prefer, I added an hook to keep in tension the chord using one of the horns of a dwarf helmet (see pic 2 in first post) and a square piece of plastic to emulate the “thing” that will push the spear. In the meanwhile I cut pieces of sprues to make the pieces of the frame of the bolt throwers and started to glue the support on bases. The spears are from a boar boy reagiment but can be taken wherever you prefer.
Step 4 The bolt throwers are finally taking shape. Glue the vertical part of the frame and make two supports for them, they are taken from the same sprues. Do not care too much about precision, they are hobgoblins stuff! Just be careful to inclination of the structure, and be careful they are glued proppa, because they could be very fragile.
Step 5 Job almost done! Place bows on position on the frame BEFORE placing the chords! For the chords I used copper wires inside an old cable I had lying for ages. If you do not have bended enough the bow you can use tension of the wire to keep them in place, be careful, they are fragile! Glue the spear in position and you’re ready to shot your enemies.
Step 6 Having the structure you can apply decorations, if you want, like trophies, spears, weapons, basing, whatever you like. I suggest before assembling to make scratches and cuts of the wooden frame, they’ll look more hobgoblins’
thats great Bassman! thanks very much for that !!!it so simple!!
Kera foehunter
thank you guys. My idea was to keep it simple for mass production, everybody knows we need a lot of bolt throwers.
With this tutorial you can build playable basic bolt throwers . I hope to show you soon how to embellish with more details.
You can already see some of the thropies :D
And nobody can say they are not GW models, 90 % is GW stuff :)
Great stuff bassman. Nice that you’ve kept the essence of the original at a fraction of the price. The crew look good as well, but i’m really impressed by the lantern carrying bighat lurking in the background. Any chance of a close up?
thank you for kind words. My will was not to create modelling masterpieces but build fast and cheap bolt throwers that look not-so-bad.
I’m quite pleased by the result :hat.
centauro enano and Viskar : I wish to see your creations, I’m sure they’ll be much better than mine ahahhaha
Willmark : I’ll try to do my best :cheers
Hammerhand: I think so, they should be from 4th edition starter set. I got them from a super cheap bargain on ebay. I’ve over 30 spear gobbos and over 30 bowgobbos. They are my hobgoblins :h
al-hashut: thank you. You should already know him from my army blog :~
Bassman, please do not take offense to this… but would you consider making the skirt of your hobgoblin archers’s cloak a little longer… right now it kinda looks a little too… girly?
once again, please don’t take this the wrong way. I mean no offense, I just think it would look better as a cloak, while now it looks kinda like a skirt… and makes him also look a little strangely atheletic? (not sure why). You could extended the skirt part just like you did with the former spearman goblin. Those goblin models make great starts for hobbos by the way. Glad you made them human size instead of just using them as is
Bassman, please do not take offense to this.. but would you consider making the skirt of your hobgoblin archers's cloak a little longer... right now it kinda looks a little too...... girly?
once again, please don't take this the wrong way. I mean no offense, I just think it would look better as a cloak, while now it looks kinda like a skirt... and makes him also look a little strangely atheletic? (not sure why). You could extended the skirt part just like you did with the former spearman goblin. Those goblin models make great starts for hobbos by the way. Glad you made them human size instead of just using them as is :) :) :)
CheTralfara
No offense at all! I'm happy to have suggestions. Yes, they look like skirts :P Unfortunately they are already painted but in next projects I'll made them longer to cover the entire legs. This way i'll avoid sculpting the new legs!
(see pic 2 in first post) and a square piece of plastic to emulate the “thing” that will push the spear. 
